The Sweeps are Coming …

… And no, I don’t mean anything to do with cleaning. It’s television finale time!

Okay, not quite yet, but they’re getting close, and I’m getting excited. There are a couple of shows that will end before the May Sweeps, and those are the ones I’m talking about today. I really love the competition in the television world — cable TV has really pushed networks to do new and different things, resulting in some amazing productions. These shows — from FX, Fox, and AMC — are three that stand out for me. But those of you who know me, know I love my television! For those of you who are new — basically, I gave up television for three years so I could write while I worked full-time. I’m so glad I can now write full-time and watch TV again!

Next Tuesday, April 2, marks the season finale of one of the all-time best shows on television ever.JUSTIFIED stars Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, and a whole cast of top-notch supporting actors that I always want to spend more time with (like Jacob Pitts who plays former Army sniper turned US Marshal Tim Gutterson.) If you’ve never seen JUSTIFIED … why the hell not? It has the best writing on television — sharp, clever, relying heavily on dialogue that the actors deliver smoothly. The pacing is pitch perfect and the characters are real, flawed, and memorable. One of my favorite reviews of the series comes from Aubry D’Arminio in Slant Magazine: “Finishing each episode is like closing up a really great, gritty, little crime novel.” The show and actors have won a couple of Emmy’s and other awards. It’s really no surprise that the great Elmore Leonard created the character of US Marshal Raylan Givens.

Timothy Olyphant is my favorite, of course — he has to be able to lead the show, as it’s really a show about him coming home. But now that they got rid of his ex-wife Winona (Natalie Zea, who now plays Joe Carroll’s the ex-wife Claire Matthews in THE FOLLOWING) there is nothing wrong with the show. (I had problems with Winona from the first episode, but I won’t go into them here.) Each season has an over-arching storyline, though season 4’s storyline of finding Waldo Truth is far more connected than the first three season’s over-arching plot. And it works — I’d been mildly disappointed in season 3 (it was good, but didn’t live up to the amazing season 2), but season 4 is so far my favorite. And it helps that they introduced several great new secondary characters, plus have given Jacob Pitts and Raylan’s boss Art Mullen (Nick Searcy) more screen time. Overall, if you haven’t seen this series, start with season 1 and you won’t be able to stop. With only 13 episodes in a season, you have the time!

This short, 15-episode season starring Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy is dark, edgy, and brilliant. It’s also right up my literary alley — psychopaths, damaged cops, and criminal psychology. It’s one of the few series where I hit my head and think, I wish I’d written this! The season finale is April 29, and though I bought this show on iTunes, I might have to tune in and suffer through commercials because I really want to see it.

One of the best things about this show that, while it is truly about former FBI Agent Ryan Hardy and his pursuit of serial killer and serial killer guru Joe Carroll, the creators didn’t skimp on the secondary actors. Each one is well-developed with a complex and often frightening backstory. So much of what I see on this show is true to what I have read in the numerous true crime books I devour. There are smart criminals and stupid criminals; there are psychopaths and sociopaths; there are people who snap and then people who make them snap. Kevin Bacon has long ago proven he was a talent, but this show has taken his skill to another level. He may be a movie star, but this show stretched him unlike what I’ve seen in his films. I don’t know who my “favorite” follower is, probably Jacob (who I want so much to be redeemed, though I doubt it’ll happen) but maybe Amanda, who is pitch perfect in the episode Love Hurts. When I’m done watching this season, I’ll be re-watching it. It’s that good. Yes, dark and dramatic and not for the squeamish, but I don’t think it’s over the top. Honestly, the show is perfectly cast. Can’t wait until next week!

The season finale is this Sunday (on Easter!?!), but NO SPOILERS because I’m behind on this show. I watch it with my #2 daughter (Kelly) and we haven’t had time to catch up. Season 1 was amazing, we were riveted, but we were disappointed with Season 2. Extremely. So we stop watching. But then we hear Season 3 is THE BEST so we started watching season 2 again. It’s getting better … but still hasn’t wowed us. However, as soon as Season 3 is over, we plan to have a Walking Dead marathon early in the summer to watch the rest of season 2 and all over season 3.

My over-all thoughts? It’s a terrific show that’s raw and edgy and has mostly great characters and fantastic writing. My problem with season 2 was two-fold: some out-of-character issues (and I’m not talking about Shane) and slow pacing. I also had another, personal problem: this is the only television show OR movie that has actually given me nightmares. That’s the mark of a good show … I’ve seen scarier, but this one sticks with me a long time. So I haven’t really wanted to watch it unless I’m fully prepared.

But what do they do right, even in season 2? Rick and Daryl are two of my all-time favorite television characters. They rock. They make tough decisions to survive, and there’s a lot at stake. What do I hate? The women on the show. I swear, they all annoy me.

What do these shows all have in common? Something you might not notice through the quality filming and talented actors. They all have terrific writing. It’s sharp, real, consistent, and fluid. (With the exception of season 2 of The Walking Dead.) I never considered how important writing is to television because it’s a visual medium, but after being disappointed with Season 6 of BONES and seasons 6 and 7 of SUPERNATURAL, I realized that a good writing team is fundamental to a good television series. You need it all — acting, production and a strong writing team to make a show completely work. If I changed careers, I’d want to write for television.

Both The Following and The Walking Dead have been renewed. There has been no announcement about Justified, but FX has in the past waited until the season was over before announcing any renewal. I need at least ONE more season!

In May, I’ll talk about May Sweeps and what’s going on with my other favorite shows … so stay tuned! And today … let’s dish on everything to do with television.

Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly three dozen romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.

22 comments on “The Sweeps are Coming …”

Being a happy-ending girl, and sort of on the I-like-to-laugh-alot bent these days, the shows you mentioned are hard for me to sit through. BUT, I LOVE the characters and the writing, so I do. And I agree, they are each brilliant in their own ways.

And there a a ton of take-ways from television and movies for us fiction writers. The tight dialogue, the proper way to set a scene, get in, get out, and move on. Crisp transitions. All wonderful to study and try to mimic. And using action to develop character as well as advance plot.

I’ll be riveted, as you will. Gosh, how I do love good stories well told….

Thanks for the heads-up on these–I might have missed them unintentionally.

Deborah, if you like to laugh, have you seen NEW GIRL? It’s Seinfeld for todays 20-somethings. HILARIOUS. A little raunchy. I watch it with my two older girls (19 and 17) — definitely not for kids or young teens. Zooey Deschanel stars. Definitely worth getting the first season — and I say this even though I’m not a fan of sit coms and this is the only sit com I’ve watched since … hmmm … Seinfeld.

Ooh, I am loving all three of these shows. (And you got ME hooked on Justified as well, btw!)

I’m curious to see how the new Hannibal show will turn out. I do love Mads Mikkelsen but I kind of wish that it wasn’t coming so close on the heels of The Following. Hopefully they can make it stand out as something different right off the bat. I’m also a bit concerns about the rumors of a possible Chelsea Cain adaptation – if it will still be made and how it will stack up against The Following and Hannibal.

What I love about the shows you’ve mentioned is that they’re different from everything else that’s on right now. Inevitably TV starts to become oversaturated with too many similar shows and I find I eventually lose interest. I don’t see it happening with either Walking Dead or Justified though.

And interestingly, I did a short tv post today on BBC’s Ripper Street – another great crime show with a bit of a different twist (though I have yet to watch Copper) and fabulous characters.

I got you hooked? Wow — I was early to the JUSTIFIED bandwagon because I saw the pilot only because I knew the show was adapted from Elmore Leonard. I don’t know how I found this out, I think I was just procrastinating on the Internet doing “research” LOL.

I don’t know about HANNIBAL. I didn’t read the book, and while I love the books RED DRAGON and SILENCE, I don’t romanticize Hannibal in any way. The Following is different enough, with a unique twist, though I definitely see the similarities between Ryan Hardy and RED DRAGON’S Will Graham (at least in the book — I really didn’t like either of the RD movies, and I saw them both.)

I’ve been meaning to watch RIPPER STREET — I might have to get it on DVD. I love both SHERLOCK and LUTHER, so I suspect I’ll enjoy it!

A friend got me hooked on Justified. I love Boyd Crowder. I love the way he talks. We watched an episode last night where the bad guy said he was going to have to go to Google for a translation if Boyd kept talking to him. Love it!!!

And it is definitely the writing that keeps me coming back. Some of the lines are worth stitching on a pillow, I swear.

I’m not as big a fan of The Following, but I watch it. Haven’t seen the Walking Dead but it sounds as if I am going to have to.

I took a writing class from McKee, the guru of screenwriting in California, a few years ago. At the time, he said the best writing was on TV and mentioned Six Feet Under, a show that I loved. Some of the best writing is still on TV, if you know where to look.

I love Boyd almost as much as Raylan. I love their dynamic together, and how they both respect and distrust each other. And how Boyd knows Raylan so well — like how he knew that Raylan would take Drew Thompson to the old high school because the astronaut landed in a helicopter on the baseball field … that had been the highlight of their schooling. I mean, Boyd’s a bad guy, but he has such strong and clear motivation, and he’s so smart and charming, and he clearly loves Ava and has his own moral code — truly one of the best characters on television. And to think he was only supposed to guest star in the first couple of episodes! I’m so glad he became a regular.

I haven’t gotten hooked on a television series in ages. I watched the first two seasons of Downton Abbey when I was sick, but that is it for drama. I have a hunch I’d love Justified and The Following, because so many of my friends rave about them. But I’d have to watch them in marathons. I haven’t figured out how to merge primetime TV, back into my writing life.

Kendra: I watch TV on my own schedule. Some I watch via Netflix, some I record on my DVR, and some I buy on iTunes, which downloads the night after it airs on television. Then I can watch when I have time, which is usually late at night. No way could I set a schedule to stop everything and watch television! When I gave up TV for three years, I’ve rarely, if ever, watched “live” other than baseball and football.

Another thing you can do is buy a complete season when it’s released on DVD and watch it with your husband over a long weekend, or a couple episodes a night — I did this with LOST and DEADWOOD and a few other shows. I guarantee you’d love both Justified and The Following.

I love Justified and like you I think Boyd and Raylan are great in how they react with each other. There is some respect between them- in their own way.
I have seen bits and pieces of The Following but have yet to see a whole episode. I more then like will like it if I ever get the chance.
Now Walking Dead- I have to give that show a complete thumbs down. The whole Zombie thing for me just does not work. Perhaps I got burned out on zombie movies when I was in college.

I’d recommend watching The Following from the beginning. There are a lot of subtle clues and plotting that I think get lost if you come in mid-season. Even Justified has an over-arching mystery that you really need to see all episodes. That they are shorter seasons really helps … the time commitment is less, the quality is better!

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Bio:

Allison Brennan

Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly three dozen romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.